The State of Iowa ranks ninth in the annual assessment from a national non-profit focused on child well being. The latest KIDS Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation mainly compares data from 2022 and 2023. It found no change in the number of Iowa children covered by health insurance. Anne Discher is Executive Director of Common Good Iowa, the group that releases the KIDS Count report card for Iowa.
However, there was a significant increase in the number of 4th graders who weren’t proficient readers and among 8th graders who could not do math at a junior high level. Discher says of all the assessments in the report, the education ratings really stick out.
The report found a one percent increase in the number of Iowa children living in poverty.
There was a surprising health measure in the report — a slight drop in the number of Iowa kids between the ages of 10 and 17 who are considered obese. Discher notes it was a one percent decline.
And Discher is concerned the state’s history of having a large share of children covered by health insurance may dip in the future.
Tax credits that reduce monthly premiums for people who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are set to expire on December 31st. The “big beautiful bill” that passed the House does not extend those tax credits.
